EU'S De Palacio says nuclear needed for Kyoto targets

"I'm not terribly keen on nuclear energy. I don't think anyone is,because it does entail risks," de Palacio told a European Parliamentcommittee.

"But if we don't have it, we won't be able to stick by the terms of theKyoto agreement. And it does give us greater energy autonomy," dePalacio said.

The 15-member EU undertook at Kyoto to cut its emissions of six gaseslinked to global warming by eight percent from 1990 levels between 2008and 2012.

A number of EU countries, including Germany and Belgium, are debatingscaling down or abandoning their nuclear power stations, which produceno carbon dioxide but do carry risks of radiation leaks.

De Palacio told the parliament that efforts had to be made to securereliable long-term energy supplies for the EU. She said the bloc isalready dependent on imports for 50 percent of its energy needs and thatthis could rise to 70 percent by 2020.

She called on the power industry and EU governments to redouble theirefforts to complete the process of liberalisation of the bloc'selectricity and gas sectors, threatening to introduce additionallegislation if markets were not opened in accordance with existing laws.

France is coming under growing pressure to finalise domestic legislationto open a quarter of its electricity market up to competition. The ruleswere supposed to apply from February this year.

"As guardians of the (EU) treaty, we cannot tolerate actions which mightdamage this market," de Palacio said.

She also urged regulators to agree common rules on charging for thetransport of energy across borders and underlined the need for improvedgas distribution networks.

"I'll be happy to recommend additional legislative measures if theindustries can't do it for themselves. If they don't, we'll take thenecessary steps."

De Palacio said the benefits of liberalisation were already showingthrough in lower prices, a vital precondition if European industry wasto compete with foreign competitors.